Новости за 23.09.2022

The JSE has a new product that is appropriate for fund-raising by junior mining companies, JSE origination and deals head Sam Mokorosi said on Friday. Mokorosi, who was speaking at Minerals Council South Africa’s Junior and Emerging Miners Desk webinar, highlighted the new product against the background of the JSE wanting to reverse the low number of junior mining listings on the exchange, about which it was very concerned. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

State-owned Eskom, the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec) – based at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) – and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) have signed a partnership agreement for the development of a new training facility to be established at the soon-to-be-decommissioned Komati power station, in Mpumalanga. The training facility is part of Eskom’s contribution to a just transition for the local community as the Komati power station is decommissioned.

Diversified mining company and commodity trader Glencore on Friday announced that it would buy gold miner Newmont’s 18.75% shareholding in the MARA project, in Argentina. Following completion of the transaction, Glencore would own 43.75% of MARA, which is a brownfield project located in the Catamarca province.

Two people are still unaccounted for, nearly two weeks after a mining dam wall collapsed in the small Free State town of Jagersfontein. They are 50-year-old Mantele Mokhali, and 70-year-old Shadrack Williams.

Global miner Anglo American, together with the Anglo American Foundation, have pledged $15-million to support the Global Fund, aimed at ending HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and building resilient systems for health and pandemic preparedness. The pledge was delivered in New York, during the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment.

Elisabeth Brinton has decided to step down as director of Anglo American for personal reasons, with immediate effect. “We thank Elisabeth for her contribution to our board discussions and wish her well for the future,” comments chairperson Stuart Chambers.

Diversified miner Rio Tinto has announced $2.3-million in funding to help protect forests in Mongolia. The company signed a three-year partnership agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia (MET) and the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF), which aims to tackle and reverse the erosion of Mongolia’s forests caused by the rapid spread of forest defoliators.

Energy major Woodside has become the first Australian company to join the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative. By signing the initiative Woodside is committing to striving to reach near-zero methane emissions from its operated assets by 2030.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is offering up more than A$200 000 in student scholarships in a bid to develop innovative ways to improve land rehabilitation in Queensland coal mines. Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart said applications were now open for the QRC Coal Mine Site Rehabilitation scholarships, which give up to two Queensland university students the chance to pursue postgraduate studies in world-class environmental management.

Glencore and Zambia's State-owned mining company ZCCM-IH could jointly lend Mopani Copper Mines $200-million to help cover running costs under a proposal made by the global miner last week, a letter seen by Reuters showed. Glencore, which owned Mopani until March 2021, is prepared to lend up to $100-million as a short-term cash injection to Zambia's Mopani copper mine, the global miner said in a Sept. 12 "non-binding letter of intent".

Research agency Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research has revised downward its copper price forecast for this year to about $8 800/t, down from $9 470/t it anticipated previously. The agency says investor sentiment for copper has been weakening, as has demand for the base metal, in light of slower global growth.

Rio Tinto's top executive is raising the alarm that the unfettered flow of Russian aluminum into the US is making North American producers less competitive. Russian imports, which remain exempt from US sanctions, are flowing into the country unrestricted when allies like Australia continue to face restrictions left over from the Trump administration, CEO Jakob Stausholm said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. His comments are the most candid about the aluminum industry since taking the helm of Rio at the start of 2021.

Scorching gains for lithium, a raw material vital for powering electric vehicles, threaten to push costs even higher for Chinese battery makers, and the government is finding itself powerless to do anything about it. Even after a meeting last week where Chinese authorities pleaded with major producers to stabilize prices, lithium carbonate surged to a fresh record, rising to 500 500 yuan ($70 716) a ton. In yuan terms, that exceeds the level prevailing when Tesla’s Elon Musk called prices “insane” earlier this year.

A potentially vast lithium deposit in Mexico's northern Sonora state could be worth as much as 12-trillion Mexican pesos ($602-billion), according to a recent finance ministry report, or over a third of the country's projected economic output this year. Mexico hopes its reserves of the key battery component will help it benefit from a global shift toward electric vehicle production that has turbo-charged demand, but experts are skeptical it will be able to quickly mobilize its industry.

ASX- and TSX-V listed Jervois Global has been awarded an Environmental Installation License, or LPI, for its São Miguel Paulista (SMP) nickel cobalt refinery in São Paulo, Brazil. The company said on Friday that the licence from the state environmental regulator, Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo, represented São Paulo state approval for construction of the Stage 1 SMP restart, and marked another important milestone as Jervois continues detailed engineering on the restart prior to final investment decision.

US-based SSR Mining will restart operations at its Ҫӧpler mine, in Turkey, after receiving the required regulatory approvals from the Turkish government. The company in June this year temporarily suspended operations at the mine following a cyanide spill.

Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has signed a letter of intent with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, to break down barriers for US companies to invest in Australia’s clean energy industries. Bowen has signed up for the US’ Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI), will make it easier to encourage cost-competitive and efficient markets, and implement credible and transparent systems for investors.

Copper miner OZ Minerals has taken a final investment decision on the A$1.7-billion West Musgrave copper/nickel project, in Western Australia. All key regulator approvals for the project are in place, and OZ has signed land access agreement with Traditional Owners in the region, as well as securing a A$1.2-billion syndicated funding facility from key relationship banks, subject to final binding agreements.

Major Rio Tinto has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with major steel producer Shougang Group to promote research, design and implementation of low-carbon solutions for the steel value chain. The MoU’s focus areas include low-carbon sintering technology, blast furnace (BF) and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) optimisation, and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU).

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is embedded into gold miner Harmony Gold’s business strategy to earn credibility, remain competitive and contribute to achieving a net-zero economy, says group executive for sustainability Melanie Naidoo-Vermaak. With the urgency of decarbonising the global economy, leadership organisation the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has put the spotlight on the mining industry's decarbonisation and sustainable development efforts to aid in achieving net-zero.

Business management consultants OIM Consulting’s supervisory programme has managed not only to improve the efficiency of mine supervisors but also increase mine production.   The Coaching to Performance programme aims to encourage mine supervisors to achieve greater competency and capability in their roles by actioning daily key performance indicators (KPIs) to improve the mine’s operational outcomes, notes OIM Consulting MD Arjen de Bruin.

The Joburg Indaba, hosted by mineral resources, energy and mining conference specialists Resources 4 Africa, draws together captains of the industry, government officials and investors to present their strategic thoughts on the current state of the mining sector. During the event – to be held on October 5 and 6 – industry dignitaries Mark Cutifani and Sipho Nkosi will engage in conversation on how to ‘think global and act local’.

Addressing the nation on the ongoing energy crisis on July 25, 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s reinforced the direction in which the country’s energy-generation market is moving, which has created various opportunities to secure a reduction in South Africa’s carbon footprint, says mining industry employers’ organisation Minerals Council South Africa communications head Allan Seccombe. These opportunities include South Africa’s mining industry not only reducing its reliance on State-owned power... Читать дальше...

The green energy revolution in South Africa presents potential positive and negative consequences for the economy, says professional services firm Deloitte Energy, Resources and Industrials leader Andrew Lane. This revolution involves a shift away from fossil fuel-based energy sources, including an initial transition from coal to gas.